Vancouver Fire crews will get new patrol boat

View full sizePeter Beland, Special to The OregonianFirefighter Rick Harte pilots the U.S. Coast guard surplus boat south of the I-5 bridge, past a river barge hauling wheat downriver.

A gaggle of geese floating beneath the I-5 bridge drift at a steady 5 knots downriver.

"You look at a highway, you have to deal with cars moving past you when responding to an emergency. Same issue on the river, except the highway is always moving," said Vancouver Fire Department Division Chief Steve Eldred, bobbing on a 17-foot-long Coast Guard surplus boat as he and his crew puttered past the geese. Purchased for $500 in 2006, the boat serves as Vancouver's emergency response vessel, topping out at 15.6 knots, or 18 miles per hour.

"The more people you put in it, the slower it goes," lamented Eldred of the open-air vessel, which can't operate in rainy conditions. This has significant implications when dealing with river emergencies.

The cities of Vancouver, Astoria and Clark County received $2.7 million earlier this month from the U.S. Coast Guard to help pay for new emergency response vessels. Vancouver is planning to purchase by 2014 a 45-foot-long boat capable of speeds up to 39 knots, or 45 mph. Its operation costs will be partially funded by donations from local businesses. The grant came out of a study commissioned for the U.S Coast Guard that identified critical gaps in emergency services along the Columbia river.

During Vancouver's Fourth of July celebration every year, thousands flock to the water to imbibe with friends and take in the dazzling displays of light and sound.

"You can almost walk over the boats to the other side of the river," said Eldred.

The new boat will help the fire department manage such events, as well as respond to capsized boats and other emergencies. What now takes an hour to patrol will take half the time.